1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to semiconductor processing, and more particularly to thermal management systems for computing devices and methods of using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heat buildup within computing devices, such as computers and game consoles, is potentially troublesome not only for the high-power dissipation devices, such as the various processors and memory devices within such devices, but also for all of the other components housed within the device enclosure, including data storage devices, chipsets and even the various passive components on a typical system board. To transfer heat from various internal components, many conventional computing devices incorporate a heat sink in thermal contact with the higher heat dissipating devices along with a cooling fan.
Conventional heat sinks and cooling fans come in a large variety of configurations. Most include multiple thin plates joined or otherwise fastened to a base and spaced closely together. The base is designed to seat on a thermal spreader or lid associated with a given semiconductor device and provide a thermal resistance pathway. In some conventional designs, air is directed past the plates in a direction parallel to the long axes thereof and either allowed to directly exit the plates or first impinge the base and then exit laterally. These parallel flow conventional designs use so-called direct flow. In another variant, air is pulled upward as opposed to being directed downward.
Many current vendors offer different models of heat sinks. Some examples include the Model TR2-R1 CPU Cooler from Thermaltake, the Model CNPS 7500 from Zalman, and the Model SP420B8 CopperStream from Spire.
Current thermal solutions are designed based on a specific type of chassis conditions such as the available airflow, ambient temperature, and mechanical placement requirements, i.e., keep-outs inside the device case or enclosure. Thus, a given thermal solution has to be designed based on given constraints dictated by the system design. Fans provide airflow that is unique depending on the way a fan is mounted. For example, airflow for a fan positioned on top of a finned heat sink will be different than for one that is side-mounted relative to the heat sink. Furthermore, since conventional heat sinks are tailored to particular system designs, upgrades or other changes to the internals of a device case may require insertion of a completely different style of heat sink and fan arrangement.
The present invention is directed to overcoming or reducing the effects of one or more of the foregoing disadvantages.